What do the different calls of gulls mean?
Submitted By
SusanGrade Level
10Each gull species has its own vocabulary of sounds, and they communicate things such as mating rituals, warning calls, and location of food sources.
Young gulls have high pitched whining calls that together with their behavior cause parents to regurgitate food for them. Most warning calls are growling-like. Some calls are soft and others are loud and far reaching to warn away competitors.
You may be watching and listening to several species of gulls, and each species may have sounds peculiar to its species (such as mate attraction calls). Other sounds will be more generally recognized by all gull species (such as "stay away from my food").
To learn more about the songs of birds, try these links.
Bibliographic details:
- Article: What do the different calls of gulls mean?
- Author(s): Dr. Biology
- Publisher: Arizona State University School of Life Sciences Ask A Biologist
- Site name: ASU - Ask A Biologist
- Date published: 11 May, 2017
- Date accessed:
- Link: https://askabiologist.asu.edu/gull-calls
APA Style
Dr. Biology. (Thu, 05/11/2017 - 12:54). What do the different calls of gulls mean?. ASU - Ask A Biologist. Retrieved from https://askabiologist.asu.edu/gull-calls
Chicago Manual of Style
Dr. Biology. "What do the different calls of gulls mean?". ASU - Ask A Biologist. 11 May 2017. https://askabiologist.asu.edu/gull-calls
MLA 2017 Style
Dr. Biology. "What do the different calls of gulls mean?". ASU - Ask A Biologist. 11 May 2017. ASU - Ask A Biologist, Web. https://askabiologist.asu.edu/gull-calls
Be Part of
Ask A Biologist
By volunteering, or simply sending us feedback on the site. Scientists, teachers, writers, illustrators, and translators are all important to the program. If you are interested in helping with the website we have a Volunteers page to get the process started.
